Chapter Fifteen: The Fierce Battle of Xiaoyao Ford

  The sun is high in the sky, and the drums are beating loudly.

  All the blood and passion in their bodies were ready to ignite, but standing on the platform five meters apart, the white-robed Xing Yue and the cyan-armored Xiao Mohe stood still, quietly sizing each other up, their eyes unblinking, not a single thread of movement.

  Xiao Mohe had long been looking forward to this moment, but when excitement truly stood in front of him, the urgency and excitement in his heart suddenly disappeared, and he calmed down instantly. Everything around him was thrown out of his mind, leaving only himself and Gao Xing in the entire world. That white-clothed youth with a faint, calm smile on his face, standing carelessly with an air of nonchalance, seemed to be full of flaws at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he had not a single flaw.

  As time passed, the scorching sun beat down, and sweat evaporated from his skin, condensing into large beads that slowly rolled down Xiao Mohe's face. However, what made Xiao Mohe extremely puzzled was that Gao Xing still looked as calm as ever, with a pair of eyes as deep as an icy pool, as quiet as an ancient well, without a hint of tension or solemnity on his face, and not even a single sweat drop on his forehead.

  "Got it!" Just as a bead of sweat fell from the corner of his eye, Xiao Moyu's eyes involuntarily blinked, and he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, knowing that he had already revealed his weakness. With lightning-fast reflexes, the four-pointed star shuriken hidden between the fingers of his right hand was swiftly flung at Gao Xing, while his body rapidly dodged to the right.

  Xiao Mohe's reaction was extremely swift and accurate, although he looked excited as if he had already won, completely not putting Xiao Mohe in his eyes. In fact, his whole body's energy and spirit were all raised to the best state, ready to burst out at any time. The reason for this was just to confuse Xiao Mohe, making it difficult for him to find his own weaknesses, so that the latter would become anxious and reveal his weaknesses, allowing himself to win with one blow.

  Xiao Maohe is not a newcomer to the scene, his bravery surpasses that of the three armies, and in the entire Chen state, he is second to none. The famous general Wu Mingche praised him as having talent comparable to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, capable of beheading Yan Liang, perhaps an exaggeration, but his martial prowess can be glimpsed.

  Gao Xing was never an arrogant and proud person. At the age of seven, his parents were brutally killed by human hands, but he was deceived by evil people, mistaking the enemy for his mother, and became a tool for others to make money. By chance, Gao Xing learned the truth and escaped alone to Mount Kunlun, where he obtained a copy of "Changsheng Jue" and half a Buddha pendant.

  Later, he was delighted to have made progress in his cultivation, but the enemy's forces were too strong and their tracks could not be found. He joined the Dragon Group and from then on hid himself in the darkness. For over a decade, he was like a dancer on the tip of a knife, having gone through countless life-and-death battles, yet still talking and laughing as if nothing had happened amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

  This is the demeanor of a master, with confidence in himself. Although at this time, the excited "Longevity Formula" has not yet broken through to the third layer, as the former super agent "Laughing Buddha Devil Hand" who once made the whole world tremble with fear, he does not fear any enemy.

  The first to take action is strong, the last to take action suffers. Life and death are often only in an instant. The way of waiting for the enemy to attack first with a big heart is simply pretending to be forceful, it's a behavior of seeking death. Therefore, when Xiao Mohe moved because of the sweat on his eyelids, Gao Xing suddenly moved without any warning or shouting to cheer him on, he just moved so abruptly and suddenly.

  Xiao Mohai had once used a flying dart to kill the Qi army's archer, Bone Diagram, and didn't even give him a chance to shoot a single arrow. This shows just how exceptional Xiao Mohai's skills with flying darts were, and how swift his movements were.

  Four four-pointed star darts, like four cold stars, flew rapidly, tearing through the void, bringing forth waves of mournful wails, as if forming a horizontal line shooting towards excitement.

  Overjoyed, he didn't dare to be careless, the true energy inside his body circulated even faster, raising the tactile sense of the six senses to the extreme. His eyes narrowed into a fine slit, and his pupils contracted violently, becoming as small as a grain of wheat. The four flying darts rotated continuously in the air, initially advancing in a straight line, but when they reached the front, there was a clear distinction between before and after, above and below.

  As they watched, the flying dart was only one meter away from Gaoxing, who seemed to be unaware of it and quickly rushed forward. All the soldiers couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, thinking that Gaoxing was about to die, and closed their eyes in distress. However, the next moment, they heard four consecutive "thudding" sounds as the darts pierced the target board, and saw that the four flying darts had formed a straight line, deeply embedded in the bullseye.

  No one saw clearly, and when the flying dart was still a foot away from his body, his excitedly running body suddenly dodged to the side and narrowly avoided the flying dart. He then rushed towards Xiao Mohe, at this time the distance between them was only two meters fifty.

  Two meters fifty, for the excitement of rapid sprinting is just a step away. Xiaomohe retreated and let go of the excitement of the direct right fist punch.

  Delighted to be close, Xiao Mohe's flying dart had apparently lost its effective killing power. With a roar, he burst out with unmatched ferocity, his massive fist striking Gaoxing's cheek from the side.

  Feeling the strong wind in his face, the excitement of a punch that missed was not accompanied by any fear. His left arm instantly blocked, his right fist retracted, and then quickly drew an arc, a simple swing punch struck Xiao Mohe's chin.

  Xiao Mohe was not just showing off, that fist was not only huge in appearance but also powerful, like a hard hammer smashing onto Gaoxing's left arm which had been raised high, causing Gaoxing to frown. Fortunately, Gaoxing reacted extremely quickly, using his left fist to block and his right fist to counterattack, forcing Xiao Mohe to use his hand to block the attack before its power could be fully unleashed.

  Delighted, Xiao Mohe and the other person separated as soon as they touched, standing five meters apart again, their eyes tightly locked on each other. The previous collision was extremely brief, but it was very perilous.

  The smile on his face remained, only the curve of his mouth was slightly strange, it was because his right arm hurt too much. At this time he was only thirteen years old, his body had not yet matured, strength and toughness were far inferior to Xiao Mohe who had been tempered for a long time. In terms of technique, Gaoxing was among the best, but in terms of hardware, he was at a disadvantage.

  They stared at each other for a moment, then both Xue Mo and Gaoxing let out a loud roar and charged towards each other. Xue Mo was like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, his momentum was overwhelming, and his entire body was filled with a dense and intense killing aura that was unleashed without restraint. His attacks were as swift and fierce as a stormy sea. Having suffered a loss before, Gaoxing no longer clashed head-on with Xue Mo, instead relying on his quick speed, agile movements, and cleverly dodging and weaving around Xue Mo's attacks. Like a small boat drifting in the wind and rain, he floated lightly, appearing to be in danger but actually being calm and composed.

  Xiao Mohe's breathing gradually became heavier. He was a general who had fought on the battlefield, his moves were all big and powerful, with a strong momentum, seeking to kill with one blow. Gao Xing, on the other hand, adopted an elusive fighting tactic, lightly touching and quickly retreating, his moves light and agile, with sharp angles and multiple changes.

  Xiao Moye felt increasingly stifled as the battle went on, like a slippery loach that couldn't be caught. He was surrounded by his own troops, spinning around him nonstop. He had almost exhausted all his strength, but every move he made fell short of its mark. Xiao Moye was still just a child, while he himself was in his prime, a renowned general with many battles under his belt. Yet here he was, unable to breach the enemy's defenses despite prolonged attacks. His face burned with shame and frustration. The sound of war drums beating out a rhythm seemed particularly jarring to his ears, like a personal affront. As time wore on, Xiao Moye grew more agitated and restless, his breathing becoming increasingly labored and rough. His attack lost some of its earlier ferocity and intensity.

  Overjoyed in his heart, but expressionless on his face, he instead appeared slightly fatigued, slowing down his pace, his footsteps no longer as agile as before, somewhat disorganized, barely avoiding Xiao Mohe's attacks time and again.

  Jian Guang was delighted to see the unyielding attitude, Xiao Mohe's heart was greatly pleased at the same time and he also let out a sigh of relief. If Jian Guang continued with his previous speed, he feared that he would lose, losing to a child, where would his face be in the future?

  Xiao Mohe concentrated his energy, gradually increasing his strength, and his attack speed suddenly accelerated a lot. He was like a dragon and tiger. On the other hand, Gao Xing was at a loss, only able to defend himself, with no ability to counterattack, completely at a disadvantage.

  "Bang", with a joyful crossed arms, he blocked Xiaomohe's incoming punch to the chest, but let out a muffled hum, unable to withstand the enormous force, his body stumbled backward.

  "Hey!" Xiaomohe let out a loud shout, his feet stomping the ground, "Crack", as he burst through the wooden board on the stage. Like a cannonball shooting out, Xiaomohe rapidly charged towards Gaoxing who was retreating backwards, his fist the size of a sand pot aimed straight at Gaoxing's handsome face.

  "General!" Seeing that Gao Xing had no strength to resist, he was about to be hit by Xiao Mohe and suddenly shouted as he rushed towards the commanding platform.

  Just as Xiang Mohe's fist was about to hit Gaoxing's delicate and handsome face, all the soldiers couldn't help but close their eyes again in distress, not wanting to see their commander's head splattered with blood like a smashed watermelon, brains flying everywhere.

  Xiao Mohe thought he had already won, just when his fist was two feet away from Gaoxing's nose, he suddenly remembered what Gaoxing had said before the match and unconsciously lowered his fist a few inches, changing his target to Gaoxing's left shoulder.

  At the same time, Xiao Moye saw a happy smile, faintly, still as calm and composed as ever, with a hint of relief. Xiao Moye was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly reacted, however, his move had already been made, and it was too late to change it now. Gaoxing's body suddenly disappeared from Xiao Moye's sight, all he felt was a light tap on his back, and then he was flying out, diving towards the ground below the stage.

  However, he was delighted to take advantage of the momentary lapse and struck Xiao Mochou's back with a sideways palm. With four ounces moving a thousand pounds, Xiao Mochou flew off the dueling platform under Gaoxing's push, while Gaoxing also jumped down from the platform at the same time.

  Watching the ground rapidly enlarging in front of him, Xiao Moyu's face, still with a hint of stunned expression, suddenly darkened. He had lost, lost to a thirteen-year-old kid, and lost so miserably. He could never return to his hometown again, nor see his family, and even more couldn't verify the young man's words!

  Just as Xiao Moye was about to fall to the ground, with his face still three feet away from the ground, his body stopped falling, and a pair of hands supported his shoulders. Xiao Moye looked up and saw Gao Xing standing in front of him, with a warm and sincere smile on his face, without any pride of victory, nor any ridicule towards him.

  With a happy smile, he helped Xiang Mohe up, took two steps back, clasped his hands together in greeting and asked with concern: "General Xiao, are you alright?"

  "You win." Xiao Moye looked at Gao Xing with a dazed expression, returned a courtesy, and his face was gloomy and depressed.

  "No, General Xiao. If it weren't for your mercy at the last moment, how could I have won against you?" Gaoxing shook his head and said.

  Xiao Mohe smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "You don't need to comfort me. Winning is winning, losing is losing. I will fulfill the bet." After saying this, he seemed to have suddenly aged ten years. The calm and majestic aura that was previously unmatched was nowhere to be seen.

  Delighted and laughing, he praised: "Good! Xiang Mohe is indeed a great husband who can stand tall and keep his promises! Someone, bring wine!"